Reformation Day 2013

            By the end of the seventeenth century, many Lutheran churches celebrated a festival commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses, a summary of abuses in the Roman Catholic Church in the year 1517. At the heart of the reform movement was the gospel, the good news of God that it is by grace through faith that we are justified and set free.

            On this Reformation Day, let us celebrate the witness of Martin Luther, and the continuing work to make the gospel be heard clearly by all Christians.

Trunk or Treat!

Trunk or Treat is THIS Sunday, October 27th. Trunk set up will begin at 4:00pm, and more trunks are needed! Bring some treats to hand out (candy or otherwise - we've got some erasers to hand out from our trunk) and dress up in costume if you'd like. There just might be a prize for the best trunk decorations. At 4:30pm the Trunk or Treating will officially begin, and there will be games for kids in the social hall as well.
Invite your friends and neighbors - the more the merrier!
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A word about Halloween, from one of my ELCA clergy colleagues:
At this time of year, many Christian parents wonder if they should allow their children to take part in Halloween activities. The Christian history of Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) ties it to All Saints Day (the following day). It is a part of a celebration of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil.
Far from acknowledging Satan’s power or “worshiping the devil,” Halloween actually is a way of making fun of the devil and celebrating the truth that Christ has been victorious and evil has been defeated. Let your kids know this.
Use Halloween for fun; put on the masks, walk with the little ones, and have a good time.

Don't lose heart

Last Tuesday evening I attended an event sponsored by HRDC at the Emerson Center. The event was centered around the screening of a documentary produced by HBO called "American Winter."

The documentary follows eight families in the Portland, OR area who find themselves homeless because of unemployment, health issues with loved ones, low pay, and lack of available social services.

Frankly, it was easy to lose heart watching the families lose their homes, their jobs, and their sanity.

It didn't seem fair to see honest, hardworking people like you and me end up suddenly without shelter, food, electricity, water, and security.

Our gospel reading for this coming Sunday, October 20th is Luke 18:1-8

18"  Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Luke 18:1

After feeling helpless halfway through the film, I began to feel hope and not lose heart. Up on the big screen in the Emerson Center were churches in the greater Portland area, including First Immanuel Lutheran Church, opening their doors and their hearts to families in need. I saw church members staff food pantries and overnight shelters. I saw church members display compassion to the families depicted in the documentary with mercy and tenderness. I saw church members living out their calling as disciples of Jesus Christ, loving God and loving the neighbor in need. And then it dawned on me, we do the same for the homeless here in Bozeman.

Christ the King, in its Rooted in Faith, Growing in Giving capital campaign over the past two years, has given over $1000 to the HRDC to address homelessness and hunger in Bozeman. Our dollars support the warming center and the transitional housing unit. Our dollars and volunteer hours help keep the doors of the Bozeman Community Café open 365 days a year, to feed hungry neighbors in need.

Christ the King participates as a partner church in Family Promise of the Gallatin Valley. Four weeks out of the year we house homeless families on campus with safe and comfortable shelter, so families can concentrate on the hard task of finding work and permanent housing.

Losing heart and despairing are common themes in the Bible. All you have to do is read some of the psalms to hear deep songs of lament. But you will also find in the Bible stories of hope and compassion, rooted in the love of God as expressed by God's Son Jesus Christ.

"American Winter" does not have to be the predominate season in Bozeman, or the world for that matter.

 

CROP Walk 2013

The annual Gallatin Valley CROP Walk is this Sunday, October 20th. Participants will gather at the Food Bank at 1:45pm and the walk kicks off at 2pm. There are a handful of walkers from CtK signed up. You can still join the fun on the Christ the King team! Or support the cause.
Thanks!

A new Presiding Bishop - video of the Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's installation

The ELCA has a new Presiding Bishop! The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton was installed this past Saturday, October 5th, at the Rockafeller Chapel in Chicago. Below is the video of the service of Holy Communion with her installation.






If you want to skip ahead to the sermon, preached by the Bishop of the Montana Synod, the Rev. Jessica Crist, the video is here:



Enjoy!

Adult forum welcomes Rabbi Ed Stafman from Temple Beth Shalom

Adult forum on Sunday, September 22nd welcomes Rabbi Ed Stafman of Temple Beth Shalom, Bozeman as he shares with us the teachings and traditions of Judaism.

The forum will meet at 9 a.m. on September 22nd in the social hall of Christ the King Lutheran Church.

Below is a bio of Rabbi from the Beth Shalom website www.bethshalombozeman.org.

Rabbi Ed Stafman began to serve as Rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in August, 2008, following eight years of Rabbinic study and ordination in the ALEPH Rabbinic program, which is part of the Jewish Renewal movement.
Jewish renewal is a worldwide, transdenominational movement, grounded in Judaism’s mystical tradition, and which seeks to bring relevance, creativity, joy, and an all-embracing awareness to spiritual practice, as a way to bring about tikun halev (healing of the heart) and tikun olam (healing of the world). Jewish Renewal rabbis are trained to work in any and all movements of Judaism. Jewish Renewal promotes religious equality for women and all previously disenfranchised Jews, and is open and welcoming towards those of other faith traditions.
Rabbi Ed spent 27 years as a trial lawyer in Tallahassee, Florida, specializing in defending death penalty cases, prior to deciding to attend Rabbinic school. He was largely a secular Jew during much of that time — although he spent 20 years on the Board of a Reform synagogue and 4 years as president — when he discovered “the great richness and wonder in Jewish tradition, texts and practices – so much that I decided to make it his full time endeavor.”
In addition to a law degree and Rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Ed holds a master’s degree in Religion and has completed the coursework (but still lacks a dissertation) for a Ph.D. in Religion of Western Antiquity, which includes early Judaism, early Christianity, and Greek & Roman religion, from Florida State University.
Rabbi Ed is married for 28 years to Beth, a calligrapher, book and graphic artist, a web designer, and a pianist. They have two children, Laura, in her final year of medical student at University of Florida School of Medicine and planning a residency in surgery, and Logan, a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and now attending Princeton University, where he is working towards his Ph.D in computer science.
Rabbi Ed brings much enthusiasm to Bozeman and, working with the Board, plans expansion of many of the programs of Congregation Beth Shalom. Services, led by Rabbi Ed, are designed to deepen and enrich the worship experience. He loves to teach in our adult education program and is supportive of the work of the social action committee. Rabbi Ed is particularly excited about working with interfaith families and with the larger interfaith community in Bozeman. He is also available for individual spiritual counseling, for visits for the ill, and of course, for all life cycle events.

Link to video from last Sunday's adult forum

Last Sunday, a group from adult forum gathered in the church office to watch a video on "Understanding Islam." The video was interrupted by the computer updating itself and by hick ups in the internet connection.

Here is the link to the video.
You can view it on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NaHhdI5HpE